After months of negotiation, North Carolina’s General Assembly did something increasingly rare in Raleigh: it passed a major piece of agricultural legislation with support from nearly everyone in the building.
On June 22, 2026, Governor Josh Stein signed Senate Bill 401, the NC Farm Act of 2025-2026, into law as Session Law 2026-11. The bill passed the House 110 to 2 and the Senate 48 to 0 on the conference report, a level of agreement that reflects real, substantive work by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. For a state where agriculture remains one of the largest drivers of the economy, that kind of consensus is worth noting, and worth understanding. Here is what farmers, landowners, and agribusiness operators need to know.
A Bill Shaped by Compromise
The version of the Farm Act that became law looks different from the bill first introduced. Two provisions that drew significant public opposition, a proposed ban on raw milk herd-share arrangements and a liability shield for pesticide manufacturers, were removed before final passage. The raw milk provision would have eliminated the existing practice, legal since 2018, of dispensing raw milk to independent or partial owners of a dairy animal. That practice remains legal under current law. The pesticide provision would have created a presumption that manufacturers satisfied their duty to warn consumers as long as their product carried an EPA-approved label under federal law. That provision is gone as well, meaning product liability litigation against pesticide manufacturers in North Carolina proceeds under existing legal standards, unchanged by this Act.
Lawmakers also removed a proposal that would have expanded local governments’ authority to block construction near agricultural operations. What remains is a bill focused on water resources, land protections, regulatory cleanup, and a handful of practical fixes that had been a long time coming.
Protecting Agricultural Water for the Long Haul
The centerpiece of the Act directs the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to update North Carolina’s Strategic Plan for Protecting Agricultural Water Resources, last revised in 2010. The updated plan must address water infrastructure needs, conservation practices, long-term storage capacity, and flood mitigation, along with incentive programs to compensate landowners who participate in flood mitigation efforts. DACS must report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources by January 1, 2027.
This matters more than it might first appear. As North Carolina’s urban areas continue to grow and periods of drought become more frequent, water availability for irrigation and livestock has become a genuine point of competition. A modernized water plan, done well, could shape everything from permitting to future incentive programs for farmers who invest in storage and conservation infrastructure. We will be watching the rulemaking process closely and will keep our clients informed as the plan takes shape.
Keeping Working Land Working
Several provisions in the Act are aimed squarely at the pressure that development places on farmland, a subject we have written about before and one that remains close to our hearts. The Act extends the state’s land conservation tax credits through 2031, giving farm families and land trusts continued financial certainty as they plan conservation easements and long-term land preservation strategies.
The Act also adds a new disclosure requirement to residential real estate transactions. Under the NC Real Estate Commission’s standard disclosure statement, sellers of residential property must now disclose the existence of any voluntary agricultural district within one half mile of the property’s boundary. For farm families selling adjacent parcels, and for buyers moving into farm country, this is a meaningful change that adds transparency to transactions on both sides. And local governments now have clearer authority to deny special use permits for projects that would cause undue negative impact on agricultural production, giving farming operations another layer of protection as development creeps closer to the fence line.
Cleaning Up the Rulebook for Livestock and Aquaculture
The Act repeals the Violation Points System that applied to swine farms, a mechanism that had been on the books for years but, by most accounts, saw little practical use. It also makes technical corrections to the Swine Farm Siting Act addressing floodplain construction and notice requirements, and it expands eligibility for the Animal Waste Fertilizer Cost-Share Program to include those converting sludge into fertilizer products, not just lagoon owners and operators.
Shellfish aquaculture operators see a shift toward tiered penalties for lease and permit violations, replacing a flatter enforcement structure with something that scales more sensibly to the severity of the violation. These are the kinds of changes that rarely make headlines but genuinely improve how the regulatory system functions day to day.
A Few Practical Additions Worth Knowing
The Act adds composting facilities, Types 1 through 3, to the statutory definition of agriculture, which exempts them from county zoning and building code requirements. It establishes a ten-member Feral Swine Working Group within the Wildlife Resources Commission to develop a statewide control plan, a welcome step for landowners who have watched feral hog damage grow into a serious problem in many parts of the state. Larceny of ungathered crops now carries stiffer penalties, with a second or subsequent offense elevated to a Class G felony and a minimum $500 fine, a meaningful deterrent for an offense that can cause real financial harm to a farm operation. New Hanover and Pender counties join the list of High Hazard Counties for open burning. And in a nod to the next generation of North Carolina agriculture, schools must now excuse students who miss class to participate in agricultural or equestrian events.
What This Means for Your Operation
Most provisions in the Farm Act took effect immediately upon signing. The agricultural water plan will take shape over the coming months, with the required report due to legislators by January 1, 2027, so there is time to stay engaged as DACS does that work. Farm families with conservation easements or preservation plans in progress should take note of the extended tax credit deadline. And anyone buying, selling, or developing land near a voluntary agricultural district should build the new disclosure requirement into their transaction planning now, rather than discovering it at the closing table.
As with any piece of omnibus legislation, the practical impact will depend heavily on implementation and rulemaking in the months ahead. We will continue to monitor developments and will share updates as the water plan and other provisions move from statute to practice.
If you have questions about how the 2026 Farm Act affects your farm, your land, or your operation, our Agribusiness team is here to help. Agriculture is today, and has always been, near and dear to our Firm’s heart, and we count it a privilege to walk alongside North Carolina’s farm families as the legal landscape continues to evolve.
